Skin Care (Esthetician)

KZ Academy · Milpitas, CA

Cost: $5,766
Length: 15 weeks
Working 6 months later: 69%

Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.

What happened to people who took this

People enrolled: 523

Finished the program: 81%Based on 330 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Working 6 months later: 69%Typical California program: 69% of 1,690 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Earnings in one quarter after: $16,200A single quarter of earnings, roughly three months, not a yearly salary. Do not compare it directly with the yearly pay shown for the occupation.Typical California program: $10,900 of 1,339 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.

The job this trains for

This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.

Where California publishes a separate figure for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties), it appears beneath the statewide one. Statewide stays the headline: people who train here do not necessarily work here.

Skincare Specialists

Job ads may call this: Facialist · Esthetician · Aesthetician · Electrologist

Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.

Sterilize equipment and clean work areas.
Cleanse clients' skin with water, creams, or lotions.
Demonstrate how to clean and care for skin properly and recommend skin-care regimens.
Determine which products or colors will improve clients' skin quality and appearance.

Show 4 more things this job involves

Keep records of client needs and preferences and the services provided.
Treat the facial skin to maintain and improve its appearance, using specialized techniques and products, such as peels and masks.
Examine clients' skin, using magnifying lamps or visors when necessary, to evaluate skin condition and appearance.
Collaborate with plastic surgeons and dermatologists to provide patients with preoperative and postoperative skin care.

What this pays in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties)

Each bar runs from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. The darker middle is where half the people are, and the line is the median.

Area	The lowest-paid tenth earn under	Half earn under	The highest-paid tenth earn over
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties)	$41,393	$44,520	$82,570
Across California	$35,528	$39,752	$79,114

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) beside the same figures for the whole state. A region can sit well below or above the statewide spread, and the statewide number is the one most often quoted — so where they differ, the local row is the one that describes the work near this program.

Typical pay in California: $39,752per yearSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: $42,783
Projected openings: 23,330San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 1,290
Projected change: +9.9%
Usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award

Getting in

Experience needed first: None
Training after you are hired: None

No earlier job experience is expected, and new hires are not put through a long training period. For work like this, a program is usually the way in.

These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.

Program details

This program provides in-person instruction only.

A program that prepares individuals to cleanse, depilate, massage, and beautify the human body and to function as licensed estheticians and skin care specialists. Includes instruction in skin anatomy, physiology, and health; principles of nutrition; decontamination and infection control; health and safety; facial and body massage; body wrapping and spa treatments; temporary hair removal including waxing and tweezing; color and skin analysis; client consultation and care; applicable laws and regulations; business practices; and sometimes related alternative healing regimens.

Provider's website →

Someone else may be able to pay for this

This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.

Ask before you enroll, not after

The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.

The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California

North San Jose America`s Job Center of CaliforniaAffiliate site
Phone: 408-216-6200
1901 Zanker RoadSan Jose, CA 95112about 5 miles away
Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm
Has a veterans' representative
San Jose Job CenterComprehensive center
Phone: 408-794-1101
1608 Las Plumas AvenueWork2Future-Silicon Workforce Development BoardSan Jose, CA 95133about 5.5 miles away
Hours: Monday - Friday 8a-5p
Ohlone Tri-Cities Career CenterAffiliate site
Phone: 510-742-2323
39399 Cherry StreetOhlone College Newark: Center for Health Sciences and Technology Room 1211Newark, CA 94560about 9.1 miles away
Hours: Monday - Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. & Friday 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Closed Fridays during Summer)

At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.

Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List

How this gets paid for, and what to ask →

Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.

The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.

How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →